Black Bear Tales: The Story of Sweet William
She also has a special hatred of animal trainers who use cruelty in training animals. Some of the worst offenders are those who follow "traditional methods" in the circus (there are many circus trainers who DON'T use these methods--they recognise that it is just a whole lot safer not to have to work with brutalized animals). The story of the big male American black bear she named Sweet William is a good example of why she feels this way.
A friend in Florida told her that a black bear was available from a circus. His trainer had "trained" him with a mixture of brutality and starvation, breaking his nose at least four times (it looks noticeably lumpy in photos). One day, the trainer had come just a little too close to Willy (as the bear was called) while punishing him and had almost gotten killed. The bear was going to be shot as incurably dangerous and vicious unless she took the animal off their hands. They had another friend drive the bear's cage in a van all the way from Florida to California.
Willy never gave them any overt problems, but he was the most stubbornly negative and implacably uncooperative animal they had ever worked with. He was not about to forgive the human race for the life of abuse and misery he had lived. Willy sat in the same corner of his cage all day long and stared at the same spot in space. He refused to eat except late at night and only if there was no one around. He refused to take any notice of the other animals, people or absolutely anything else. Sullen and grimly silent, he sat there unmoving, seeming to find refuge from his hurt and pain in a catatonic non-existence. He made it abundantly clear he wanted absolutely nothing to do with anyone or anything.
Patricia decided to change his name to Sweet William, guessing that he associated "Willy" with the cruelty of his circus training. She knew he liked twinkies and fig newtons, so she came by his cage for an hour or so each day, offering him the treats and speaking to him in a kind voice. For several months, there was no change; Sweet William was unyielding in his determination to ignore all humans, but his health improved and he gained weight. Pat began to fear that that was the best they could
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